Breastfeeding Education

Infographics, IBCLC written Blog articles and so much more!
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1y
Feedback Inhibitor of Lactation (FIL)
Ever wondered why you shouldn't skip pumping or nursing? Here's why: Your milk contains a special protein called Feedback Inhibitor of Lactation, or FIL. When FIL starts to build up, your body starts producing less milk. This is to prevent over-production and painful, swollen breasts. It also helps decrease milk production as you wean!
Babywearing
Want to babywear, but exhausted at the thought of taking off your baby to feed every hour? Here's a how-to on wearing your baby while breastfeeding
Cabbage Leaves
Cabbage leaves: do they work? The short answer is there's not really enough evidence to prove whether they do or don't, but it's always safer to use clean, body-safe, gel ice packs to avoid infection.
Breastfeeding While Sick
When you're sick, your immune system passes important antibodies into your milk. Share them with your baby! You're not likely to pass on the illness, just the protection 🤒
Flange Fit
How to Pump: Part 2 Figuring out your flange size can be mystifying, so we've broken it down for you! cause problems. A note to remember — not all bodies are the same! We've shown a standard flange size chart, but many people fall outside the range of these sizes. If your nipples are larger or smaller than the standard flanges, you may have to special order a size that works for you. Happy pumping!
Myth vs. Fact
This is super common to hear! Though many people do experience pain while breastfeeding, it's usually a sign that something's not quite right. If you're experiencing pain that isn't going away, reach out to a Certified Lactation Counselor — they can help you troubleshoot to resolve the pain. Don't know where to start? Reach out to one of our IBCLCs at lc@kiinde.com!
Alcohol + Breastfeeding
After our post about drinking coffee while breastfeeding, we got a lot of comments asking about whether you can drink alcohol while breastfeeding. So without further ado, here it is! Although not drinking any alcohol at all is best, you don't need to pump & dump, either! Alcohol content in your breast milk peaks after 30-60 minutes after drinking, and 1 standard drink can be detected in your blood (& milk!) for up to 2 hours after drinking.
Clogged Ducts
We posted an outdated graphic about how to deal with clogged ducts. Much of the information has now been proven to not help, and in some cases can even worsen clogged ducts/mastitis.Shout out to @mbmilkdocs for pointing out our error! We try to keep our information up to date, because we want to make sure that you're taking the best possible care of yourself and your little one.
Breastfeeding myth vs. fact
Breastfeeding while working full time is possible, we promise (we know because we've done it)
Boost Milk Supply
Milk supply stressing you out? Us too 😓 Don't worry though, here's some tips we've found to help boost your output!
Milk Composition
The composition of your milk changes throughout the day. In the morning, there are more activity-promoting amino acids, while in the evening it's full of sleep-promoting melatonin. The nutrient composition also changes slightly, with different vitamins being more prevalent at different times of day.
Milk Supply False Alarms
There are lots of things that seem like indicators of a sudden decrease in milk supply. Good news: most of them aren't! If any of the things in this post happen to you, don't panic – you're probably not experiencing a supply issue. Most of the time these will resolve themselves in a day or two, and in some cases don't indicate anything's wrong at all. But if the problem persists, or you're seeing other indications of poor supply (like low diaper counts), reach out to a lactation professional!
Breastfeeding Myth
A low pump output is NOT a sign of low supply. The average lactating person produces around 25 ounces in a 24 hour period, which is about how much a child younger than 12 months consumes! Babies are often more efficient at removing milk than a pump, so don't use your pump output as a measurement of your supply. However, if you're exclusively pumping (no nursing at all), and are producing a low quantity, please reach out to a lactation professional to make sure your child is getting enough.